SIX PERIODS IN PAKISTAN HISTORY:

SIX PERIODS IN PAKISTAN’s HISTORY: The remaining part of this introduction and the period covered in the dictionary will deal only with the new Pakistan-the country that emerged after the secession of East Pakistan as Bangladesh in December 1971 Pakistan’s evolution is best understood if its history of nearly 60 years is divided into six periods The first period lasted for 11 years, from 1947, the year of Pakistan’s birth, to 1958 when the Pakistani military first intervened in politics The second period covers 13 years of the first long military rule, from October 1958 to December 1971, during which two generals, Muhammad Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan, governed as presidents The third period, from December 1971 to July 1977, witnessed the emergence of the first strong political government led by a civilian politician, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto The fourth period lasted for 11 years from 1977 to 1988 when Pakistan was under the rule of the military once again The fifth period saw the reappearance of democracy This period lasted for 11 years, from 1988 to 1999, and ended with the re-entry of the military into politics for the fourth time in the country’s history Pakistan is still in the sixth period, once again under the domination of the military